As the term suggests, marketing communication functions within a marketing

framework. Traditionally known as the promotional element of the four Ps of marketing

(product, place, price, and promotion), the primary goal of marketing communication is
to reach a defined audience to affect its behavior by informing, persuading, and
reminding. Marketing communication acquires new customers for brands by building
awareness and encouraging trial. Marketing communication also maintains a brand's
current customer base by reinforcing their purchase behavior by providing additional
information about the brand's benefits. A secondary goal of marketing communication
is building and reinforcing relationships with customers, prospects, retailers, and other
important stakeholders.

Successful marketing communication relies on a combination of options called the

promotional mix. These options include advertising, sales promotion, public relations,
direct marketing, and personal selling. The Internet has also become a powerful tool for
reaching certain important audiences. The role each element takes in a marketing
communication program relies in part on whether a company employs a push strategy
or a pull strategy. A pull strategy relies more on consumer demand than personal selling
for the product to travel from the manufacturer to the end user. The demand generated
by advertising, public relations, and sales promotion "pulls" the good or service through
the channels of distribution. A push strategy, on the other hand, emphasizes personal
selling to push the product through these channels.
Figure 1
Elements of Marketing Communication

For marketing communication to be successful, however, sound management decisions

must be made in the other three areas of the marketing mix: the product, service or idea
itself; the price at which the brand will be offered; and the places at or through which
customers may purchase the brand. The best promotion cannot overcome poor product
quality, inordinately high prices, or insufficient retail distribution.

Likewise, successful marketing communication relies on sound management decisions

regarding the coordination of the various elements of the promotional mix. To this end,
a new way of viewing marketing communication emerged in the 1990s. Called
integrated marketing communication, this perspective seeks to orchestrate the use of all
forms of the promotional mix to reach customers at different levels in new and better
ways.

INTEGRATED MARKETING
COMMUNICATION

The evolution of this new perspective has two origins. Marketers began to realize that
advertising, public relations, and sales were often at odds regarding responsibilities,
budgets, management input and myriad other decisions affecting the successful
marketing of a brand. Executives in each area competed with the others for resources
and a voice in decision making. The outcome was inconsistent promotional efforts,
wasted money, counterproductive management decisions, and, perhaps worst of all,
confusion among consumers.

Secondly, the marketing perspective itself began to shift from being market oriented to
market driven. Marketing communication was traditionally viewed as an inside-out way
of presenting the company's messages. Advertising was the dominant element in the
promotional mix because the mass media could effectively deliver a sales message to a
mass audience. But then the mass market began to fragment. Consumers became better
educated and more skeptical about advertising. A variety of sources, both controlled by
the marketer and uncontrolled, became important to consumers. News reports, word-
of-mouth, experts' opinions, and financial reports were just some of the "brand
contacts" consumers began to use to learn about and form attitudes and opinions about
a brand or company, or make purchase decisions. Advertising began to lose some of its
luster in terms of its ability to deliver huge homogeneous audiences. Companies began
to seek new ways to coordinate the multiplicity of product and company messages being
issued and used by consumers and others.

Thus, two ideas permeate integrated marketing communication: relationship building

and synergy. Rather than the traditional inside-out view, IMC is seen as an outside-in
perspective. Customers are viewed not as targets but as partners in an ongoing
relationship. Customers, prospects, and others encounter the brand and company
through a host of sources and create from these various contacts ideas about the brand
and company. By knowing the media habits and lifestyles of important consumer
segments, marketers can tailor messages through media that are most likely to reach
these segments at times when these segments are most likely to be receptive to these
messages, thus optimizing the marketing communication effort.

Ideally, IMC is implemented by developing comprehensive databases on customers and

prospects, segmenting these current and potential customers into groups with certain
common awareness levels, predispositions, and behaviors, and developing messages and
media strategies that guide the communication tactics to meet marketing objectives. In
doing this, IMC builds and reinforces mutually profitable relationships with customers
and other important stakeholders and generates synergy by coordinating all elements in
the promotional mix into a program that possesses clarity, consistency, and maximum
impact.

Practitioners and academics alike, however, have noted the difficulty of effectively
implementing IMC. Defining exactly what IMC is has been difficult. For example,
merely coordinating messages so that speaking "with one clear voice" in all promotional
efforts does not fully capture the meaning of IMC. Also, changing the organization to
accommodate the integrated approach has challenged the command and control
structure of many organizations. However, studies suggest that IMC is viewed by a vast
majority of marketing executives as having the greatest potential impact on their
company's marketing strategies, more so than the economy, pricing, and globalization.

ADVERTISING

Advertising has four characteristics: it is persuasive in nature; it is non-personal; it is

paid for by an identified sponsor; and it is disseminated through mass channels of
communication. Advertising messages may promote the adoption of goods, services,
persons, or ideas. Because the sales message is disseminated through the mass media—
as opposed to personal selling—it is viewed as a much cheaper way of reaching
consumers. However, its non-personal nature means it lacks the ability to tailor the
sales message to the message recipient and, more importantly, actually get the sale.
Therefore, advertising effects are best measured in terms of increasing awareness and
changing attitudes and opinions, not creating sales. Advertising's contribution to sales is
difficult to isolate because many factors influence sales. The contribution advertising
makes to sales are best viewed over the long run. The exception to this thinking is within
the internet arena. While banner ads, pop-ups and interstitials should still be viewed as
brand promoting and not necessarily sales drivers, technology provides the ability to
track how many of a website's visitors click the banner, investigate a product, request
more information, and ultimately make a purchase.

Through the use of symbols and images advertising can help differentiate products and
services that are otherwise similar. Advertising also helps create and maintain brand
equity. Brand equity is an intangible asset that results from a favorable image,
impressions of differentiation, or consumer attachment to the company, brand, or
trademark. This equity translates into greater sales volume, and/or higher margins, thus
greater competitive advantage. Brand equity is established and maintained through
advertising that focuses on image, product attributes, service, or other features of the
company and its products or services.

Cost is the greatest disadvantage of advertising. The average cost for a 30-second spot
on network television increased fivefold between 1980 and 2005. Plus, the average cost
of producing a 30-second ad for network television is quite expensive. It is not
uncommon for a national advertiser to spend in the millions of dollars for one 30-
second commercial to be produced. Add more millions on top of that if celebrity talent is
utilized.

Credibility and clutter are other disadvantages. Consumers have become increasingly
skeptical about advertising messages and tend to resent advertisers' attempt to
persuade. Advertising is everywhere, from network television, to daily newspapers, to
roadside billboards, to golf course signs, to stickers on fruit in grocery stores. Clutter
encourages consumers to ignore many advertising messages. New media are emerging,
such as DVRs (digital video recorders) which allow consumers to record programs and
then skip commercials, and satellite radio which provides a majority of its channels
advertising free.

PUBLIC RELATIONS

Public relations is defined as a management function which identifies, establishes, and

maintains mutually beneficial relationships between an organization and the publics
upon which its success or failure depends. Whereas advertising is a one-way
communication from sender (the marketer) to the receiver (the consumer or the retail
trade), public relations considers multiple audiences (consumers, employees, suppliers,
vendors, etc.) and uses two-way communication to monitor feedback and adjust both its
message and the organization's actions for maximum benefit. A primary tool used by
public relations practitioners is publicity. Publicity capitalizes on the news value of a
product, service, idea, person or event so that the information can be disseminated
through the news media. This third party "endorsement" by the news media provides a
vital boost to the marketing communication message: credibility. Articles in the media
are perceived as being more objective than advertisements, and their messages are more
likely to be absorbed and believed. For example, after the CBS newsmagazine60
Minutesreported in the early 1990s that drinking moderate amounts of red wine could
prevent heart attacks by lowering cholesterol, red wine sales in the United States
increased 50 percent. Another benefit publicity offers is that it is free, not considering
the great amount of effort it can require to get out-bound publicity noticed and picked
up by media sources.

Public relations' role in the promotional mix is becoming more important because of
what Philip Kotler describes as an "over communicated society." Consumers develop
"communication-avoidance routines" where they are likely to tune out commercial
messages. As advertising loses some of its cost-effectiveness, marketers are turning to
news coverage, events, and community programs to help disseminate their product and
company messages. Some consumers may also base their purchase decisions on the
image of the company, for example, how environmentally responsible the company is.
In this regard, public relations plays an important role in presenting, through news
reports, sponsorships, "advertorials" (a form of advertising that instead of selling a
product or service promotes the company's views regarding current issues), and other
forms of communication, what the company stands for.

DIRECT MARKETING AND

DATABASE MARKETING

DIRECT MARKETING.

Direct marketing, the oldest form of marketing, is the process of communicating directly
with target customers to encourage response by telephone, mail, electronic means, or
personal visit. Users of direct marketing include retailers, wholesalers, manufacturers,
and service providers, and they use a variety of methods including direct mail,
telemarketing, direct-response advertising, online computer shopping services, cable
shopping networks, and infomercials. Traditionally not viewed as an element in the
promotional mix, direct marketing represents one of the most profound changes in
marketing and promotion in the last 25 years. Aspects of direct marketing, which
includes direct response advertising and direct mail advertising as well as the various
research and support activities necessary for their implementation, have been adopted
by virtually all companies engaged in marketing products, services, ideas, or persons.

Direct marketing has become an important part of many marketing communication

programs for three reasons. First, the number of two-income households has increased
dramatically. About six in every ten women in the United States work outside the home.
This has reduced the amount of time families have for shopping trips. Secondly, more
shoppers than ever before rely on credit cards for payment of goods and services. These
cashless transactions make products easier and faster to purchase. Finally, technological
advances in telecommunications and computers allow consumers to make purchases
from their homes via telephone, television, or computer with ease and safety. These
three factors have dramatically altered the purchasing habits of American consumers
and made direct marketing a growing field worldwide.

Direct marketing allows a company to target more precisely a segment of customers and
prospects with a sales message tailored to their specific needs and characteristics.
Unlike advertising and public relations, whose connections to actual sales are tenuous or
nebulous at best, direct marketing offers accountability by providing tangible results.
The economics of direct marketing have also improved over the years as more
information is gathered about customers and prospects. By identifying those consumers
they can serve more effectively and profitably, companies may be more efficient in their
marketing efforts. Whereas network television in the past offered opportunities to reach
huge groups of consumers at a low cost per thousand, direct marketing can reach
individual consumers and develop a relationship with each of them.

Research indicates that brands with strong brand equity are more successful in direct
marketing efforts than little-known brands. Direct marketing, then, works best when
other marketing communication such as traditional media advertising supports the
direct marketing effort.

Direct marketing has its drawbacks also. Just as consumers built resistance to the
persuasive nature of advertising, so have they with direct marketing efforts. Direct
marketers have responded by being less sales oriented and more relationship oriented.
Also, just as consumers grew weary of advertising clutter, so have they with the direct
marketing efforts. Consumers are bombarded with mail, infomercials, and
telemarketing pitches daily. Some direct marketers have responded by regarding privacy
as a customer service benefit. Direct marketers must also overcome consumer mistrust
of direct marketing efforts due to incidents of illegal behavior by companies and
individuals using direct marketing. The U.S. Postal Service, the Federal Trade
Commission, and other federal and state agencies may prosecute criminal acts. The
industry then risks legislation regulating the behavior of direct marketers if it is not
successful in self-regulation. The Direct Marketing Association, the leading trade
organization for direct marketing, works with companies and government agencies to
initiate self-regulation. In March of 2003 the National Do Not Call Registry went into
affect whereby consumers added their names to a list that telemarketers had to
eliminate from their out-bound call database.

DATABASE MARKETING.

Database marketing is a form of direct marketing that attempts to gain and reinforce
sales transactions while at the same time being customer driven. Successful database
marketing continually updates lists of prospects and customers by identifying who they
are, what they are like, and what they are purchasing now or may be purchasing in the
future. By using database marketing, marketers can develop products and/or product
packages to meet their customers' needs or develop creative and media strategies that
match their tastes, values, and lifestyles. Like IMC, database marketing is viewed by
many marketers as supplanting traditional marketing strategies and is a major
component of most IMC programs.

At the core of database marketing is the idea that market segments are constantly
shifting and changing. People who may be considered current customers, potential
customers, and former customers and people who are likely never to be customers are
constantly changing. By identifying these various segments and developing a working
knowledge of their wants, needs, and characteristics, marketers can reduce the cost of
reaching non-prospects and build customer loyalty. Perhaps the most important role of
database marketing is its ability to retain customers. The cumulative profit for a five-
year loyal customer is between seven and eight times the first-year profit.
Since database marketing is expensive to develop and complex to implement effectively,
companies considering database marketing should consider three important questions.
First, do relatively frequent purchasers or high dollar volume purchasers for the brand
exist? Secondly, is the market diverse enough so that segmenting into subgroups would
be beneficial? Finally, are there customers that represent opportunities for higher
volume purchases?

SALES PROMOTION/SPONSORSHIPS/
EXHIBITIONS

SALES PROMOTION.

Sales promotions are direct inducements that offer extra incentives to enhance or
accelerate the product's movement from producer to consumer. Sales promotions may
be directed at the consumer or the trade. Consumer promotions such as coupons,
sampling, premiums, sweepstakes, price packs (packs that offer greater quantity or
lower cost than normal), low-cost financing deals, and rebates are purchase incentives
in that they induce product trial and encourage repurchase. Consumer promotions may
also include incentives to visit a retail establishment or request additional information.
Trade promotions include slotting allowances ("buying" shelf space in retail stores),
allowances for featuring the brand in retail advertising, display and merchandising
allowances, buying allowances (volume discounts and other volume-oriented
incentives), bill back allowances (pay-for-performance incentives), incentives to
salespeople, and other tactics to encourage retailers to carry the item and to push the
brand.

Two perspectives may be found among marketers regarding sales promotion. First, sales
promotion is supplemental to advertising in that it binds the role of advertising with
personal selling. This view regards sales promotion as a minor player in the marketing
communication program. A second view regards sales promotion and advertising as
distinct functions with objectives and strategies very different from each other. Sales
promotion in this sense is equal to or even more important than advertising. Some
companies allocate as much as 75 percent of their advertising/promotion dollars to sales
promotion and just 25 percent to advertising. Finding the right balance is often a
difficult task. The main purpose of sales promotion is to spur action. Advertising sets up
the deal by developing a brand reputation and building market value. Sales promotion
helps close the deal by providing incentives that build market volume.

Sales promotions can motivate customers to select a particular brand, especially when
brands appear to be equal, and they can produce more immediate and measurable
results than advertising. However, too heavy a reliance on sales promotions results in
"deal-prone" consumers with little brand loyalty and too much price sensitivity. Sales
promotions can also force competitors to offer similar inducements, with sales and
profits suffering for everyone.

SPONSORSHIPS.

Sponsorships, or event marketing, combine advertising and sales promotions with

public relations. Sponsorships increase awareness of a company or product, build
loyalty with a specific target audience, help differentiate a product from its competitors,
provide merchandising opportunities, demonstrate commitment to a community or
ethnic group, or impact the bottom line. Like advertising, sponsorships are initiated to
build long-term associations. Organizations sometimes compare sponsorships with
advertising by using gross impressions or cost-per-thousand measurements. However,
the value of sponsorships can be very difficult to measure. Companies considering
sponsorships should consider the short-term public relations value of sponsorships and
the long-term goals of the organization. Sports sponsorships make up about two-thirds
of all sponsorships.

EXHIBITS.

Exhibits, or trade shows, are hybrid forms of promotion between business-to-business

advertising and personal selling. Trade shows provide opportunities for face-to-face
contact with prospects, enable new companies to create a viable customer base in a
short period of time, and allow small and midsize companies that may not be visited on
a regular basis by salespeople to become familiar with suppliers and vendors. Because
many trade shows generate media attention, they have also become popular venues for
introducing new products and providing a stage for executives to gain visibility.
PERSONAL SELLING

Personal selling includes all person-to-person contact with customers with the purpose
of introducing the product to the customer, convincing him or her of the product's value,
and closing the sale. The role of personal selling varies from organization to
organization, depending on the nature and size of the company, the industry, and the
products or services it is marketing. Many marketing executives realize that both sales
and non-sales employees act as salespeople for their organization in one way or another.
One study that perhaps supports this contention found that marketing executives
predicted greater emphasis being placed on sales management and personal selling in
their organization than on any other promotional mix element. These organizations
have launched training sessions that show employees how they act as salespeople for the
organization and how they can improve their interpersonal skills with clients,
customers, and prospects. Employee reward programs now reward employees for their
efforts in this regard.

Personal selling is the most effective way to make a sale because of the interpersonal
communication between the salesperson and the prospect. Messages can be tailored to
particular situations, immediate feedback can be processed, and message strategies can
be changed to accommodate the feedback. However, personal selling is the most
expensive way to make a sale, with the average cost per sales call ranging from $235 to
$332 and the average number of sales calls needed to close a deal being between three
and six personal calls.

Sales and marketing management classifies salespersons into one of three groups:
creative selling, order taking, and missionary sales reps. Creative selling jobs require the
most skills and preparation. They are the "point person" for the sales function. They
prospect for customers, analyze situations, determine how their company can satisfy
wants and needs of prospects, and, most importantly, get an order. Order takers take
over after the initial order is received. They handle repeat purchases (straight rebuys)
and modified rebuys. Missionary sales reps service accounts by introducing new
products, promotions, and other programs. Orders are taken by order takers or by
distributors.
INTERNET MARKETING

Just as direct marketing has become a prominent player in the promotional mix, so too
has the Internet. Virtually unheard of in the 1980s, the 1990s saw this new medium
explode onto the scene, being adopted by families, businesses and other organizations
more quickly than any other medium in history. Web sites provide a new way of
transmitting information, entertainment, and advertising, and have generated a new
dimension in marketing: electronic commerce. E-commerce is the term used to describe
the act of selling goods and services over the Internet. In other words, the Internet has
become more that a communication channel; it is a marketing channel itself with
companies such as Amazon.com, CDNow, eBay, and others selling goods via the
Internet to individuals around the globe. In less than 10 years advertising expenditures
on the Internet will rival those for radio and outdoor. Public relations practitioners
realize the value that web sites offer in establishing and maintaining relationships with
important publics. For example, company and product information can be posted on the
company's site for news reporters researching stories and for current and potential
customers seeking information. Political candidates have web sites that provide
information about their background and their political experience.

The interactivity of the Internet is perhaps its greatest asset. By communicating with
customers, prospects, and others one-on-one, firms can build databases that help them
meet specific needs of individuals, thus building a loyal customer base. Because the cost
of entry is negligible, the Internet is cluttered with web sites. However, this clutter does
not present the same kind of problem that advertising clutter does. Advertising and
most other forms of promotion assume a passive audience that will be exposed to
marketing communication messages via the mass media or mail regardless of their
receptivity. Web sites require audiences who are active in the information-seeking
process to purposely visit the site. Therefore, the quality and freshness of content is vital
for the success of the web site.

THE FUTURE OF MARKETING

COMMUNICATION
Marketing communication has become an integral part of the social and economic
system in the United States. Consumers rely on the information from marketing
communication to make wise purchase decisions. Businesses, ranging from
multinational corporations to small retailers, depend on marketing communication to
sell their goods and services. Marketing communication has also become an important
player in the life of a business. Marketing communication helps move products, services,
and ideas from manufacturers to end users and builds and maintains relationships with
customers, prospects, and other important stakeholders in the company. Advertising
and sales promotion will continue to play important roles in marketing communication
mix. However, marketing strategies that stress relationship building in addition to
producing sales will force marketers to consider all the elements in the marketing
communication mix. In the future new information gathering techniques will help
marketers target more precisely customers and prospects using direct marketing
strategies. New media technologies will provide businesses and consumers new ways to
establish and reinforce relationships that are important for the success of the firm and
important for consumers as they make purchase decisions. The Internet will become a
major force in how organizations communicate with a variety of constituents,
customers, clients, and other interested parties

Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) is the coordination and integration of

all marketing communication tools, avenues, functions and sources within a
company into a seamless program that maximizes the impact on consumers and
other end users at a minimal cost.[1]

Contents
 [hide]

1 What is IMC?
2 IMC Components
3 Marketing mix component
4 Importance of IMC
5 4 P's vs. 4 C's
 6 Effective communications
elements
7 Promotions Opportunity
Anaylsis
8 See also
9 References

What is IMC?
 Process for managing customer relationships that drive brand value.
 Its foundation is communication
 Cross-functional process for creating and nourishing profitable relationships
with customers and other stakeholders by strategically controlling or influencing
all messages sent to these groups and encouraging data-driven, purposeful
dialog with them.

 Integrated marketing communications (IMC) is the coordination and

integration of all marketing communication tools, avenues, and sources within a
company into a seamless program that maximizes the impact on consumers and
other end users at a minimal cost. This integration affects all firm's business-to-
business, marketing channel, customer-focused, and interally directed
communications.[2]
[edit]IMC Components
 The Foundation - corporate image and brand management; buyer behavior;
promotions opportunity analysis.
 Advertising Tools - advertising management, advertising design: theoretical
frameworks and types of appeals; advertising design: message strategies and
executional frameworks; advertising media selection. Advertising also reinforces
brand and firm image. [3]

 Promotional Tools - trade promotions; consumer promotions; personal selling,

database marketing, and customer relations management; public relations and
sponsorship programs.
 Integration Tools - Internet Marketing; IMC for small business and
entrepreneurial ventures; evaluating and integrated marketing program. [4]
[edit]Marketing mix component
The internet has changed the way business is done in the current world. The
variables of segmentation, targeting and positioning are addressed differently. The
way new products and services are marketed have changed even though the aim of
business in bringing economic and social values remain unchanged. Indeed, the
bottom line of increasing revenue and profit are still the same. Marketing has
evolved to more of connectedness, due to the new characteristics brought in by the
internet. Marketing was once seen as a one way, with firms broadcasting their
offerings and value proposition. Now it is seen more and more as a conversation
between marketers and customers. <Rob Strokes and the minds of Quirk(2009.The
Essential Guide to Online Marketing.(2nd edition):Quirk eMarketing(Pty)Ltd.>
Marketing efforts incorporate the "marketing mix". Promotion is one element of
marketing mix. Promotional activities include advertising (by using different media),
sales promotion (sales and trades promotion), and personal selling activities. It also
includes internet marketing, sponsorship marketing, direct marketing, database
marketing and public relations. Integration of all these promotional tools, along with
other components of marketing mix, is a way to gain an edge over a competitor.
The starting point of the IMC process is the marketing mix that includes different
types of marketing, advertising, and sales efforts. Without a complete IMC plan there
is no integration or harmony among client and customers. The goal of an
organization is to create and maintain communication throughout its own employees
and throughout its customers.
Integrated marketing is based on a master marketing plan. This plan should
coordinate efforts in all components of the marketing mix. A marketing plan consists
on the following steps:[5]

1. Situation analysis
2. Marketing objectives
3. Marketing budget
Integrated marketing communications aims to ensure consistency of message and
the complementary use of media. The concept includes online and offline marketing
channels. Online marketing channels include any e-marketing campaigns or
programs, from search engine optimization (SEO), pay-per-click, affiliate, email,
banner to latest web related channels for webinar, blog, micro-blogging, RSS,
podcast, Internet Radio and Internet TV. Offline marketing channels are traditional
print (newspaper, magazine), mail order, public relations, industry relations,
billboard, traditional radio, and television. A company develops its integrated
marketing communication programmer using all the elements of the marketing mix
(product, price, place, and promotion).Integrated marketing communications plans
are vital to achieving success. The reasons for their importance begin with the
explosion of information technologies. Channel power has shifted from
manufacturers to retailers to consumers.
Using outside-in thinking, Integrated Marketing Communications is a data-driven
approach that focuses on identifying consumer insights and developing a strategy
with the right (online and offline combination) channels to forge a stronger brand-
consumer relationship. This involves knowing the right touch points to use to reach
consumers and understanding how and where they consume different types of
media. Regression analysis and customer lifetime value are key data elements in
this approach.

[edit]Importance of IMC
Several shifts in the advertising and media industry have caused IMC to develop into
a primary strategy for marketers:

1. From media advertising to multiple forms of communication.

2. From mass media to more specialized (niche) media, which are centered
around specific target audiences.
3. From a manufacturer-dominated market to a retailer-dominated, consumer-
controlled market.
4. From general-focus advertising and marketing to data-based marketing.
5. From low agency accountability to greater agency accountability, particularly
in advertising.
6. From traditional compensation to performance-based compensation
(increased sales or benefits to the company).
7. From limited Internet access to 24/7 Internet availability and access to goods
and services.
[edit]4 P's vs. 4 C's
 Not PRODUCT, but CONSUMER
You have to understand what the consumer's wants and needs are. Times have
changed and you can no longer sell whatever you can make. The product
characteristics has to match the specifics of what someone wants to buy. And part of
what the consumer is buying is the personal "buying experience."

 Not PRICE, but COST

Understand the consumer's cost to satisfy the want or need. The product price may
be only one part of the consumer's cost structure. Often it's the cost of time to drive
somewhere, the cost of conscience of what you eat, and the cost of guilt for not
treating the kids.

 Not PLACE, but CONVENIENCE

As above, turn the standard logic around. Think convenience of the buying
experience and then relate that to a delivery mechanism. Consider all possible
definitions of "convenience" as it relates to satisfying the consumer's wants and
needs. Convenience may include aspects of the physical or virtual location, access
ease, transaction service time and hours of availability.

 Not PROMOTION, but COMMUNICATION

Communicate, communicate, communicate. Many mediums working together to
present a unified message with a feedback mechanism to make the communication
two-way. And be sure to include an understanding of non-traditional mediums, such
as word of mouth and how it can influence your position in the consumer's mind.
How many ways can a customer hear (or see) the same message through the
course of the day, each message reinforcing the earlier images? [6]

[edit]Effective communications elements

The goal of selecting the elements of proposed integrated marketing
communications is to create a campaign that is effective and consistent across
media platforms. Some marketers may want only ads with greatest breadth of
appeal: the executions that, when combined, provide the greatest number of
attention-getting, branded, and motivational moments. Others may only want ads
with the greatest depth of appeal: the ads with the greatest number of attention-
getting, branded, and motivational points within each.
Although integrated marketing communications is more than just an advertising
campaign, the bulk of marketing dollars is spent on the creation and distribution of
advertisements. Hence, the bulk of the research budget is also spent on these
elements of the campaign. Once the key marketing pieces have been tested, the
researched elements can then be applied to other contact points: letterhead,
packaging, logistics, customer service training, and more, to complete the IMC
cycle.
One common type of integrated marketing communication is personal selling.
Personal selling can be defined as "face to face selling in which a seller attempts to
persuade a buyer to make a purchase."

[edit]Promotions Opportunity Anaylsis

A major task that guides the way in creating an effective Integrated Marketing
Communications plan is the promotions opportunity analysis. “A promotions
opportunity analysis is the process marketers use to identify target audiences for a
company’s goods and services and the communication strategies needed to reach
these audiences.” [7] A message sent by a marketer has a greater likelihood of
achieving the intended results if the marketer has performed a good analysis and
possesses accurate information pertaining to the target audience. There are five
steps in developing a promotions opportunity analysis

Modern marketing c a l l s  for more than developing a good product, pricing it attractively and making it
accessible to target customers. Companies must also communicate with their present and potential
customers. Every company is inevitably cast into the role of communicator and promoter.

What is communicated, however, should not be left to change. To communicate effectively, companies hire
advertising agencies to develop effective ads; sales promotion specialists to design sales incentive
programs and public relations firms to develop the corporate image. They train their sales people to be
friendly and knowledgeable. For most companies, the questions are not whether to communicate but rather
what to say, to whom, and how often.

A modern company manages a complex marketing communications system. The company communicates
with its middlemen, consumers and various publics. Its middlemen
communicate   with   their   consumers  and   various   publics.     

Consumers engage in word-of-mouth communication with other consumers and publics. Meanwhile each
group provides communication feedback to every other group.
The marketing communication mix (also called the promotion mix) consists of four major tools:
√ Advertising. Any paid form of nonpersonal presentation and promotion of ideals, goods or services by an
identified sponsor.
√ Sales Promotion. Short-term incentives to encourage purchase or sale of a product or service.
√ Publicity. Nonpersonal stimulation of demand for a product, service or business unit by planting
commercially significant news about it in a published medium or obtaining favorable presentation of it
upon radio, television or stage that is not paid for by the sponsor.
√ Personal Selling. Oral presentation in a conversation with one or more prospective purchasers or the
purpose of making sales.

Marketers need to understand how communication works.

Some years ago a communication model will answer:

■       Who,

■       Says what,

■       In what channel,

■       To whom,

■       With what effect.

Over the years, a communication model with nine elements has evolved, that shown in figure 8. Two
elements represent the major parties in a communication sender  and receiver.  Another two represent the
major communication tools message  and media. Four represent major communication functions encoding,
decoding, response and feedback .The last element represents noise in the system.

Figure 8 Elements in the              

Communication Process
These elements are defined as follows:

√   Sender. The party sending the message to another party (also called the source of communicator).

√   Encoding. The process of putting thought into symbolic form.

√   Message. The set of symbols that the sender transmits.

√   Media. The communication channels thought which the Message moves from sender to receiver.

√   Receiver. The party receiving the message sent by another party (also called the audience or
destination).

√   Response. The set of reactions that the receiver has after being exposed to the message.

√   Feedback. The part of the receiver's response that the receiver communicates back to the sender.

√ Noise. Unplanned static or distortion during the communication process, resulting in the receiver's
receiving a different message than the sender sent.

The model underscores the key factors in effective communication. Senders must know what audiences they
want to reach and what responses they want. They must be skillful in encoding messages that take into
account how the target audience usually   decodes   messages.   The  source   must  transmit  the message
thought efficient media that reach the target audience. Senders must develop feedback channels so that
they can know the receiver's response to the message.

                     Figure 9

                     Elements Affecting Shared Meaning

For a message to be effective, the sender's encoding process must mesh with the receiver's decoding
process. Schramm sees messages as e s s e n t i a l l y  signs that must be familiar to the receiver. The more
the sender's field of experience overlaps with that of the receiver, the more effective the message is likely to
be. (See Figure 9).

"The source can encode and the destination can decode, only in terms of the experience each has had".This
puts a burden a communicators from one social stratum (such as advertising people) who want to
communicate effectively with another stratum (such as factory workers). 

The sender's task is to get h i s  or her message thought to the receiver. There is considerable noise in the
environment people are exposed to several hundred commercial messages a day, aside from the other
messages they attend to in their environment. Members of the audience may not receive the intended
message for any of three reasons. The first is selective attention  in that they will not notice a l l  the stimuli.
The second is selective distribution in that they w i l l  twist the message to hear what they want to hear. The
third is selective recall in that they will retain in permanent memory only a small fraction of the messages
that reach them. 

The challenge to the communicator is to design a message that wins attention in sprite of the surrounding
distractions. Schramm suggested that the likelihood that a potential receiver will attend to a message is
given by.

    Perceived reward strength - Perceived punishment strength

I livelihood of attention =-----------------------------------------------------

Perceived expenditure of effort

Selective  attention  explains  why  ads  with   bold   headlines promising something, such as "How to Make

a M i l l i o n ; '  along with  an  arresting  illustration and  l i t t l e  copy,  have  a  high likelihood of grabbing
attention.  For very  little effort,  the receiver has an opportunity to gain a great reward. As for selective
distortion, receivers have set attitudes, which lead to expectations about what they will hear or see. They
will  hear what  fits  into their  belief system.   As  a  result, receivers often add things to the message that
are not there (amplification)  and do not notice other things that are there (leveling). The communicator's
task is to strive for message simplicity, clarity,  interest and repetition, to get the  main points across to the
audience.

As for selective recall, the communicator aims to get the message into the receiver's long-term memory.
Long-term memory is the repository for all the information one has ever proceed.  In entering the receiver's
long-term  memory, the message has a change of modifying the receiver's beliefs and attitudes.  Bui   first
the message has to enter the receiver's short-term   memory,  which  is  a  limited-capacity  store that
processes incoming information. Whether the message passes from the receiver's short-term memory to his
or her long-term memory depends on the amount and type of message rehearsal  by the
receiver. Rehearsal  does not mean simple message repetition but rather the receiver's elaborating on the
meaning of the information in a way that brings into short-term memory related thoughts previously
stored   in the receiver's long-term memory. If the receiver's initial attitude toward the object is
positive   and   he   or  she   rehearses   support   arguments,   the message is likely to be accepted   and
have high recall. If the receiver's i n i t i a l  attitude is negative and the person rehearses counterarguments.
The message is l i k e l y  to be rejected but to stay in long-term memory. Counterarguing inhibits persuasion
by making an opposing message available. Much of persuasion requires the receiver's rehearsal of his or her
own thoughts. Much of what is called persuasion is self-persuasion. M if there is no rehearsal of arguments
but simply discounting of the message,   "I   don't  believe   it,"  the   receiver  is   still   more susceptible to
subsequent influence than the receiver who counterargues.

Communicators have been looking for audience traits that correlate whit their degree of persuasibility.
People of high education and/or intelligence are thought to be less persuasible but the evidence is
inconclusive. Women have been found to be more persuasible than men, although this is mediated by a
women's acceptance of the prescribed female role. Women who value traditional sex roles are influenceable
than women who are less accepting of the traditional roles. Persons who accept external standards to guide
their behavior and who have a weak self-concept appear to be more persuasible. Persons who are low in
self-confidence are also thought to be more persuasible. However, research by Cox and Bauer showed a
curvilinear relation between self-confidence and persuasibility, with those moderate in self-confidence being
the most persuasible. ' The communicator should look for audience traits that correlate with persuasibility
and use them to guide message and media development.

Cartwright has outlined what must happen for a message to influence the behavior of mother person:
 ♦      The "message" (that is, information, facts and so on) must reach the sense organs of the persons
who are to be influenced.

♦      Having reached the sense organs, the "'message" must be Accepted as a part of the person's
cognitive structure.
♦      To include a given action by mass persuasion, this action must be seen by the person as a path to
some goal that he has.
♦      To i n c l u d e  a given action, an appropriate cognitive and mot i v a t i o n  system must gain control of
the person's behavior at a particular point in time. 

Fiske and Hartley have outlined some factors that moderate the effect of a communication:

■ The greater the monopoly of the communication source over the recipient, the greater the change or
effect in favor of the source over the recipient.

■       Communication effects are greatest where the message is in line with the existing opinions, beliefs
and dispositions of the receiver.

■       Communication can produce the most effective shifts on unfamiliar, lightly felt, peripheral issues,
which do not lie at the center of the recipient's value system.
■    Communication is more l i k e l y  to be effective where the
source is believed to have expertise, high s t a t u s ,  objectivity
or l i k a b i l i t y ,  but particularly where the source has power
and can be identified with.
■    The social context, group or reference group will mediate
The communication and influence whether or not it is accepted. 

13.1. The Promotion Mix

Companies are always searching for ways to gain efficiency by substituting one promotional tool for
another as its economics become more favorable. Many companies have replaced some field sales activity
with ads, direct mail and telemarketing. Other companies have increased their sales promotion expen-
ditures in relation to advertising, to gain quicker sales. The relative substitutability among promotional
tools explains why marketing functions need to be coordinated in a single marketing  departments. 

Many factors influence the marketer's choice of promotional tools. We will examine these factors in the
following paragraphs. 

13.2. Nature of Each Promotional Tools 

Bach promotional tool:

•         Advertising,

•         Personal Selling,

•         Sales Promotion,

•         Publicity.
Has its own unique characteristics and costs. Marketers have to understand these characteristics in
selecting them. 

13.2.1. Advertising

Because of the many forms and uses of advertising, it is difficult to make all-embracing generalizations
about its distinctive qualities as a component of the promotional mix.

Yet the following qualities can be noted. 

13.2.1.1. Public Presentation

A d v e r t i s i n g  is a highly public mode of communication. Its p u b l i c  nature confers a kind of legitimacy on
the product and also suggests a standardized offering. Because many persons receive the same message,
buyers know that their motives for purchasing the product w i l l  be publicly understood. 

13.2.1.2. Pervasiveness 

Advertising is a pervasive medium that permits the seller to repeat a message many times. It also allows
the buyer to r e c e i v e  and compare the messages of various competitors. Large-scale advertising by a
seller says something positive about the seller's size, popularity and success.
  
13.2.1.3.   Amplified Expressiveness 

Advertising provides opportunities for dramatizing the company and its products through the artful use of
print, sound and color. Sometimes, however, the tool's very success at expressiveness may d i l u t e  or
distract from the message. 

13.2.1.4.   Impersonality 

Advertising cannot be as compelling as a company sales representative. The audience does not feel
obligated to pay attention or respond. Advertising is able to carry on only a monologue, not a dialogue, with
the audience. 

Advertising is an efficient way to reach numerous geographically dispersed buyers at a low cost Per
exposure. Certain forms of advertising, such as TV advertising, can be done on a small budget, while other
forms, such as newspaper advertising, can be done on a small budget. Advertising may have an effect on
sales simply through its presence. Consumers may believe a heavily advertised brand is one that offers
"good value", "otherwise, why would advertisers spend so much money backing a poor product?

13.2.2. Personal Selling 

Personal selling is the most effective tool at certain stages of the buying process, particularly in building up
buyers' preference, conviction and action. The reason is that personal selling, when compared with
advertising, has three distinctive qualities: 

13.2.2.1. Personal Confrontation 

Personal s e l l i n g  involves an alive, immediate and interactive relationship between two or more persons.
Each party is able to observe each other's needs and characteristics at close hand and make immediate
adjustments. 
13.2.2.2. Cultivation 

Personal selling permits all kinds of relationship to spring up, ranging from a matter-of-fact selling
relationship to a deep personal friendship. Effective sales representatives will normally keep their customers'
interests at heart if they want long-run relationship.

13.2.2.3. Response

Personal selling makes the buyer feel under some obligation for having listened to the sales talk. The buyer
has a greater need to attend and respond, even if the response is a polite "thank you". 

These distinctive qualities come at a cost. A sales force represents a greater long term commitment than
advertising. Advertising can be turned on and off, but the size of a sales force is more difficult to alter. 

13.2.3. Sales Promotion 

Although sales promotion tools (coupons, contests, premiums and the like) are highly diverse, they have
three distinctive characteristics: 

13.2.3.1. Communication 

They gain attention and usually provide information that may lead the consumer to the product.

13.2.3.2. Incentive 

They incorporate some concession, inducement or contribution that gives value to the consumer. 

13.2.3.3. I n v i t a t i o n  

They include a d i s t i n c t  invitation to engage in the transaction now.

Companies use sales promotion tools to create a stronger and quicker response. Sales promotion can be
used to dramatize product offers and to boost sagging sales. Sales promotion effects are usually short run,
however and are not effective in building long-run brand preference. 

13.2.4. Publicity

The appeal of publicity is based on its three distinctive qual i t i e s :

13.2.4.1.    High Credibility 

News stories and features seem more authentic and credible to readers than ads do. 

13.2.4.2.    Off Guard

Publicity can reach many prospects who might avoid sales people and advertisements. The message gets to
the buyers as news rather than as a sales-directed communication. 

13.2.4.3. Dramatization
Publicity has, like advertising, a potential for dramatizing a company or product.

Marketers tend to underused product publicity or use it as an afterthought. Yet a well-thought-out publicity
campaign coordinated with the order promotion-mix elements can be extremely effective.

13.3. Setting the Advertising Objectives 

The first step in developing an advertising program is to set the advertising objectives. These objectives
must flow from prior decisions on the target market, market positioning and marketing mix. The market-
positioning and marketing-mix strategies define the job that advertising must do in the total marketing
program. 

Advertising objectives can be classified as to whether t h e i r  aim is to inform, persuade or remind. 

13.3.1. Informative Advertising 

Informative advertising figures heavily in the pioneering stage of a product category, where the objective is
to build primary demand. Thud the yogurt industry initially had to inform consumers to yogurt's nutritional
benefits and many uses.

13.3.2. Persuasive Advertising 

Persuasive advertising becomes important in the competitive stage, where a company's objective is to
buildselective demand for a particular brand. Most of the advertising we view falls into this category. For
example, Chivas Regal attempts to persuade consumers that is delivers status like no other brand of scotch.
Some persuasive advertising has moved into the category of comparison advertising,  which seeks
toe s t a b l i s h   the superiority of one brand through specific comparison with one or more other brands in
the product class. ' Comparison advertising had been used in such product categories as deodorants, fast-
food hamburgers, toothpaste, tires and automobiles. The burger King Corporation successfully developed
comparison advertising for its franchise when it battled McDonald's in a burger war over flame broiling
versus frying hamburgers. Describes some guidelines for creating successful comparison advertising.

13.3.3. Reminder Advertising 

Reminder advertising is highly important in the mature stage of the product to keep the consumer thinking
about the product. Expensive four-color Coca-Cola ads in magazines have the purpose not of informing or
persuading but of reminding people to purchase Coca-Cola. A related form of advert i s i n g  is reinforcement
advertising , which seeks to assure current purchasers that they have made in right choice. Aurotobile ads
will often depict satisfied customers enjoying some special feature of their new car.

Possible Advertising Objectives 

To inform:  
Telling the market about a new product
Suggesting new uses for a product
Informing the market of a price change
explaining how the product works
Describing available services
Correcting false impressions
Reducing consumers' fears
B u i l d i n g  a company image

To persuade:  
Building brand preference Persuading customer to purc-
  hase now
 Encouraging switching to your brand Persuading customer to rece-
  ive a sales call
Changing customer's perception of  
product attributes  

To remind:  
Reminding consumers that the product Keeping it in their minds du-
may be needed in the near future ring of seasons
reminding them where to buy it Maintaining its top-of mind
  awareness

The choice of the advertising objective should not be arbitrary but should be based on a thorough analyses
of the current marketing situation. For example, if the product class is mature and the company is the
market leader and if brand usage, if the product class is new and the company is not the market
leader,bul its brand is superior to the leader, then the proper objective is to advertise the brand's
superiority over the market leader. 

13.4. Public Relations 

Public Relations (PR) is another important marketing tool. Until recently, however, it has been treated as a
marketing stepchild. The P u b l i c  Relations department is typically located at corporate headquarters; and
its staff is so busy dealing with various p u b l i c s  (stockholders, employees, legislators, community
leaders) that PR departments perform the following five a c t i v i t i e s ,   most  of which  do
not  feed  into direct product support.

♦ Press Relations. The aim o l '  press relations is to place

newsworthy  information  into the news media to attract

attention to a person, product or service.

♦ Product Publicity. Product publicity involves various

efforts to publicize specific products.

♦ Lobbying. Lobbying involves dealing with legislators and

  government officials to promote or defeat l e g i s l a t i o n  and

regulation.
♦ Corporate Communications. This activity covers internal

and external communications and promotes understanding

of the organization.
♦ Counseling.   Counseling   involves   advising  management

about public issues and company positions and image.

In addition, marketing managers and PR practitioners do not always talk the same language. One major
difference is that marketing managers are much more bottom-line oriented, whereas PR practitioners, see
their job as disseminating communications. But this is changing in two ways: 

First, companies are calling for much more market-oriented PR. They want their PR department to manage
all of their PR activities with a view to how these activities will contribute toward marketing the company
and improving the bottom line. 

Second, companies arc requiring their PR departments to set up a special section c a l l e d  marketing
PR,  likefinancial PR and community PR, would stand as a separate service to a corporate constituency,
namely, the marketing department.

On the other hand the t h i r d  element in the promotion mix that relies on mass communication is PR. Dunn
defines this activity as a promotional function that "uses two way communications to mesh the needs and
interests of an institution or person with the needs and interests of the various p u b l i c s  with which that
institution or person must communicate. 

Some key definitions in public relations are listed in Table 3. Firms undertake public relations for a product;
for a product class, for a company as a whole; and for an industry.

Public Relations
Two-way communication to mesh the needs and interests of an institution or person with
those of publics.

Publics
Any target audience tied together or distinguished by some Interest or concern.

Public Affairs
Planned effort to gain favorable reactions and influence and outside an organization through actions
and effective two-way communication; often emphasizes media and government publics.

Publicity
Planned program to obtain favorable media coverage of topics important to an organization.

Press Agentry
Generating publicity through attention-getting devices (usually blatant) or publicity gimmickry.

Promotion
Marketing function used to build the image of a product or services through advertising. PR. sales
promotion or personal selling.

Propaganda
Attempt at persuasion of target audiences at all costs, using Unethical as well as ethical forms of
communication.

Advertising
Nonpersonal. persuasive, paid communication through the Media with sponsors or brands
identified in the message.

Key Definitions in PublicRelations

The old name for marketing PR was publicity. But marketing PR goes beyond simple publicity. Marketing PR.
Can contribute to the following tasks:
♦      Assist in the launch of new products. The amazing commercial success of Cabbage Patch Kids was due
not so much to the paltry advertising budget of $ 500.000 but to clever publicity, including donating the
dolls to children in hospitals, sponsoring Cabbage Patch Kids adoption parties for schoolchildren and so
on.
♦      Assist in Repositioning a Mature Product. New York City had an extremely bad press in the seventies
until the "1 love

New York " campaign started to take root, bringing millions of additional tourists to the city.

♦      Build up Interest in a Product Category. Companies and trade associations have used PR to rebuild
interest in declining communities such as eggs, milk and potatoes and to expand consumption of such
products as tea and orange juice.
♦      Influence Specific Target Groups. McDonald's sponsors special neighborhood events in Hispanic and
black communities for good causes and in turn build up a good company image.
♦ Defend Products That Have Encountered Public Problems  Johnson & Johnson's masterly use of PR was a
major factor in saving Tylenol from extinction.

♦     Build the Corporate linage in a Way That Projects Favor ably on its Products. Iaccoca's speeches and his
autobiography helped project a whole new wining image for the Chrysler Company.

Publicity has several unique advantages, it is credible: most people feel the mass media would have no
reason to carry favorable information about a product unless it were true. Thus, PR reinforces the firm's
advertising campaign by increasing awareness and the believability of product claims. Publicity also makes
it easier for the salesforce to present a case for the product. And it is low cost, in that there are few media
costs. The   major   disadvantage   is   that   publicity   is   beyond   the company's control, not only as to
whether the release will be run, but also what is said about the product.

Through PR, firms communicate with a variety of publics. They include:

♦    The ultimate consumer information about new products and new uses for old products.

♦  The financial community and stockholders signaling the maintenance of or improvement in the company's
profitability.         
♦ The community with "good citizen" information.      
♦ Prospective employees why the firm is a good place to work.    
♦ Present employees to develop pride in the company.     
♦ Supplies good company with which to build an enduring relationship.

This listing of audience suggests that publicity might be aimed at accomplishing different objectives among
different groups. Such objectives range from simple increasing awareness of a company or its products to
stimulating an actual response, such as sending for a free bulletin.

Firms also use public relations to cope with an unexpected shock. This was the case with the PR campaign
Johnson & Johnson mounted when seven people died from poisoned Tylenol capsules. J&J was able to
restore confidence in the company and its Tylenol brand due in part to its responsible and will-orchestrated
public relations program.

13.4.1. Major Tools in Public Relations 

Public relations professionals have at least eight PR tools at

their disposal, namely;

-News,

-Speeches,

-Events,

-Public Service Activities,

-Written Material,

-Audio-visual Material,

-Corporate Identity Media,

-Telephone Information Services.

They are described below. 

13.4.1.1. News

One of the major tasks of PR professionals is to find or create favorable news about the company and/or its
products or people. Sometimes news stories are inherent in the situation and sometimes the PR person can
suggest events or activities that would create news. News generation requires skill in developing a story
concept and researching it extensively, much as a reporter does. But the PR person's skill must go beyond
preparing news. Getting the media to accept press releases and attend press conference calls for marketing
and interpersonal skills. A good PR media director understands the press's needs for stories that are
interesting and timely and for press releases that are well written and attention getting. The media director
needs to cultivate as many news editors and reporters as possible. The more the press is cultivated, the
more likely it is to give more and better coverage to the company. 

13.4.1.2. Speeches

Speeches are another tool for creating product and company publicity. Some companies arc carefully
choosing their spokespersons and also using speech writers and coaches to help improve their delivery. 

13.4.1.3. Events 

Companies can draw attention to new products or other company activities by arranging special events.
These include news conferences, seminars, outings, exhibits, competitions, anniversaries and so on, that
will reach the target publics.

13.4.1.4. Public Service Activities 

Companies can improve public goodwill by contributing money and time to good causes. The company also
encouraged its employees to participate in local programs as both tutors and board members. 

13.4.1.5. Written Material 

Companies rely extensively on written materials to reach and influence their target markets. These include
annual reports, brochures, articles and company newsletters and magazines. Brochures
can  play  an important role  in  informing target customers about what a product is, how it works and how
it is to be assembled.  Thoughtful  articles  written  by  company executives can draw attention to the
company and its products. Company newsletters and magazines can help build up the
company's   image   and   convey  important   news   to   target markets. They should have an appearance
and content that is consistent and supportive of the company's image.

13.4.1.6.   Audio-Visual Material 

Audio-Visual Material, such as films, slides-and-sound and video and audio cassettes are coming into
increasing use as communication tools. The cost of audio-visual materials is usually greater than the cost of
printed material, but so is the impact. They can provide high-impact product demonstrations and are likely
to receive strong attention. In all cases, they should be put together with care; if they are done badly, they
can impress the audience negatively rather than positively. 

13.4.1.7.   Corporate Identity Media

Normally a company's materials acquire separate looks, which causes confusion and misses an opportunity
to create and reinforce a corporate identity. In an over communicated society, companies have to compete
for attention. They should at least try to create a visual identity that the public immediately recognized. The
visual identity is carried by the company's permanent media logos, stationery, brochures, signs, business
forms, business cards, buildings, uniforms and rolling stock. The corporate identity media become a
marketing tool when they are attractive, distinctive and memorable. The company shoul select a good
graphic design consultant who will gel management to identify the essence of the company and they turn it
into a concept backed by strong visual symbols.

13.4.1. Major Tools in Public Relations 

Public relations professionals have at least eight PR tools at

their disposal, namely;

-News,

-Speeches,

-Events,

-Public Service Activities,

-Written Material,

-Audio-visual Material,

-Corporate Identity Media,

-Telephone Information Services.

They are described below. 

13.4.1.1. News

One of the major tasks of PR professionals is to find or create favorable news about the company and/or its
products or people. Sometimes news stories are inherent in the situation and sometimes the PR person can
suggest events or activities that would create news. News generation requires skill in developing a story
concept and researching it extensively, much as a reporter does. But the PR person's skill must go beyond
preparing news. Getting the media to accept press releases and attend press conference calls for marketing
and interpersonal skills. A good PR media director understands the press's needs for stories that are
interesting and timely and for press releases that are well written and attention getting. The media director
needs to cultivate as many news editors and reporters as possible. The more the press is cultivated, the
more likely it is to give more and better coverage to the company. 

13.4.1.2. Speeches 

Speeches are another tool for creating product and company publicity. Some companies arc carefully
choosing their spokespersons and also using speech writers and coaches to help improve their delivery. 

13.4.1.3. Events

Companies can draw attention to new products or other company activities by arranging special events.
These include news conferences, seminars, outings, exhibits, competitions, anniversaries and so on, that
will reach the target publics.

13.4.1.4. Public Service Activities

Companies can improve public goodwill by contributing money and time to good causes. The company
also encouraged its employees to participate in local programs as both tutors and board members. 

13.4.1.5. Written Material 

Companies rely extensively on written materials to reach and influence their target markets. These
include annual reports, brochures, articles and company newsletters and magazines. Brochures
can  play an  important role  in  informing target customers about what a product is, how it works and
how it is to be  assembled.  Thoughtful  articles  written  by  company executives can draw attention to
the company and its products. Company newsletters and magazines can help build up the
company's   image   and  convey   important   news   to   target markets. They should have an
appearance and content that is consistent and supportive of the company's image.

13.4.1.6.   Audio-Visual Material 

Audio-Visual Material, such as films, slides-and-sound and video and audio cassettes are coming into
increasing use as communication tools. The cost of audio-visual materials is usually greater than the cost of
printed material, but so is the impact. They can provide high-impact product demonstrations and are likely
to receive strong attention. In all cases, they should be put together with care; if they are done badly, they
can impress the audience negatively rather than positively. 

13.4.1.7.   Corporate Identity Media

Normally a company's materials acquire separate looks, which causes confusion and misses an opportunity
to create and reinforce a corporate identity. In an over communicated society, companies have to compete
for attention. They should at least try to create a visual identity that the public immediately recognized. The
visual identity is carried by the company's permanent media logos, stationery, brochures, signs, business
forms, business cards, buildings, uniforms and rolling stock. The corporate identity media become a
marketing tool when they are attractive, distinctive and memorable. The company shoul select a good
graphic design consultant who will gel management to identify the essence of the company and they turn it
into a concept backed by strong visual symbols.   
13.4.1.8. Telephone Information Services 

A newer PR tool is a telephone number through which prospects and customers can get information and
better service from a company, many hospitals, for example, use the telephone to provide health messages,
offer on-the-spot counseling and recommend physicians to people seeking one. 

13.5. The Sales Force 

I don’t know who you are,

I don’t know your company,

I don’t know your company 's product,

I don’t   know what your company stands for,

I don’t   know your company's customers,

              I don’t  know your company's record,

                                          I don’t   know your company's reputation,

                                        Now, what was it you wanted to sell me? 

Sales personnel serve as the company's personal link to the customers. The sales representative is the
company to many of its customers and in turn brings back to the company much needed intelligence about
the customer. Therefore the company needs to give its deepest though to issues in sales-force design,
namely, developing sales-force objectives, strategy, structure, size and compensation.

                                                    Figure 10

              Steps in Designing and Managing in the Sales Force

13.5.1. Sales-Force Objectives 

√ Prospecting. Sales representatives find and cultivate new customers.

√  Communicating. Sales representatives skillfully communicate information about the company's products
and service 

√ Selling. Sales representatives know the art of "salesmanship" approaching, presenting, answering

objections and closing sales.

√ Servicing. Sales representatives provide various services to the customers consulting their problems,
rendering technical assistance, arranging financing and expediting delivery.
√   Information Gathering. Sales representatives conduct market research and intelligence work and fill
in call reports.
√  Allocating. Sales representatives are able to evaluate customer quality and allocate scarce products
during product shortages. 

13.5.2. Sales-Force Strategy

Companies compete with each other to get orders from customers. They must deploy their sales-
ibices strategically so that they are calling on the right customers at the right time and in the right
way. Sales representatives can approach customers in several ways:

- Sales representative to buyer. A sales representative talks

to a prospect or customer in person or over the phone.

-  Sales  Representative to Buyer Group. A sales representative makes a sales presentation to a buying

group.

- Sales ream to Buyer Group. A sales team (such as a company officer, a sales representative and a
sales engineer) makes a sales presentation to a buying group.

-   Conference Selling. The sales representative brings resource people from the company to meet with
one or more buyers to discuss problems and mutual opportunities.

Thus the sales representative often acts as the "account manager 11 who arranges contacts between various
people in the buying and s e l l i n g  organizations. Selling increasingly calls for teamwork, requiring the
support of other personnel, such as top management major sales are at stake; technical people,  who supply
technical information to the customer before, during or after the purchase of the product; customer-service
representatives,  who provide installation, maintenance and other services to the customer; and an office
staff, consisting  of  sales analysts, other expediters and secretaries.

Once the company decides on a desirable selling approach, it can use either a direct or a contractual sales
force. A direct (or company)    sales   force     consists   of  full   or   part-time   paid employees who work
exclusively for the company, this sales force includes inside sales personnel,  who conduct business from
their office using the telephone and receiving visits from prospective buyers and field sales personnel, who
travel and visit customers. A contractual sales force consists of manufac-
turers'   reps,   sales   agents   or  brokers,   who   are   paid   a commission based on their sales. 

13.5.3. Sales-Force Size

Once the company clarifies its sales-force strategy and structure, it is ready to consider sales-force size.
Sales representatives are one of the company's must productive and expensive assets. Increasing their
number will increase both sales and costs.
 Most companies use the workload approach to establish sales-force size. This method consists of the
following steps:

■   Customers are grouped into size classes according to their  annual sales volume.

■   The desirable call frequencies (number of sales calls on an

account per year) are established for each class. They reflect how much call intensity the company seek in
relation to competitors.

■   The number of accounts in each size class is multiplied by the corresponding call frequency to arrive at
the total workload for the country, in sales calls per year.

■   The average number of calls a sales representative can make per year is determined.

■    The number of sales representative needed is determined by dividing the total annual calls required by
the average annual calls made by a sales representative.